9. To bring something about at a later time than or as a consequence of: She followed her lecture with a question-and-answer period. The band followed its hit album with a tour.

10. To occur or be evident as a consequence of: Your conclusion does not follow your premise.

11.

a. To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars.

b. To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon.

c. To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.

12. To grasp the meaning or logic of; understand: Do you follow my argument?

v.intr.

1. To come, move, or take place after another person or thing in order or time.

2. To occur or be evident as a consequence; result: If you ignore your diet, trouble will follow.

3. To grasp the meaning or reasoning of something; understand.

n.

Games A billiards shot in which the cue ball is struck above center so that it follows the path of the object ball after impact.

Phrasal Verbs:

follow along

To move or proceed in unison or in accord with an example: followed along with the song.

follow through

1. Sports To carry a stroke to natural completion after hitting or releasing a ball or other object.

2. To carry an act, project, or intention to completion; pursue fully: followed through on her promise to fix the oven.

follow up

To increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of by further action: followed up her interview with an email.

Idioms:

as follows

As will be stated next. Used to introduce a specified enumeration, explanation, or command.

follow (one's) nose

1. To move straight ahead or in a direct path.

2. Informal To be guided by instinct: had no formal training but became a success by following his nose.

follow suit

1. Games To play a card of the same suit as the one led.

2. To do as another has done; follow an example.

[Middle English folowen, from Old English folgian.]

fol′low·er·ship′ n.

Synonyms: follow, succeed, ensue, result These verbs mean to come after something or someone. Follow, the most general, refers to people or things that come after another in time or order or as a consequence or result: You go first, and we'll follow. He disregarded doctor's orders, and a relapse soon followed. To succeed is to come next after another, especially in planned order determined by considerations such as rank, inheritance, or election: The heir apparent succeeded to the throne. Ensue and result are used only of events or conditions that follow another in time. Ensue usually applies to what is a consequence: After the government was toppled, chaos ensued. Result implies that what follows is caused by what has preceded: Driving over the speed limit can result in a fine.

Usage Note: As follows (not as follow) is the established form of the idiom regardless of whether the noun that precedes it is singular or plural: The regulations are as follows.

follow

(ˈfɒləʊ)

vb

1. to go or come after in the same direction: he followed his friend home.

2. (tr) to accompany; attend: she followed her sister everywhere.

3. to come after as a logical or natural consequence

4. (tr) to keep to the course or track of: she followed the towpath.

5. (tr) to act in accordance with; obey: to follow instructions.

6. (tr) to accept the ideas or beliefs of (a previous authority, etc): he followed Donne in most of his teachings.

7. to understand (an explanation, argument, etc): the lesson was difficult to follow.

8. to watch closely or continuously: she followed his progress carefully.

9. (tr) to have a keen interest in: to follow athletics.

10. (tr) to help in the cause of or accept the leadership of: the men who followed Napoleon.

11. (Communications & Information) (tr) to choose to receive messages posted by (a blogger or microblogger): I've been following her online.

12. (tr) rare to earn a living at or in: to follow the Navy.

13. (Card Games) to play a card of the same suit as the card played immediately before it

14. to do the same as someone else

n

(Billiards & Snooker) billiardssnooker

a. a forward spin imparted to a cue ball causing it to roll after the object ball

b. a shot made in this way

[Old English folgian; related to Old Frisian folgia, Old Saxon folgōn, Old High German folgēn]

ˈfollowableadj

fol•low

(ˈfɒl oʊ)

v.t.

1. to come after in sequence, order of time, etc.; succeed: The speech follows the dinner.

2. to go or come after; move behind in the same direction: Drive ahead, and I'll follow you.

[before 900; Middle English folwen, Old English folgian; c. Old Saxon folgon, Old High German folgēn, folgōn]

fol′low•a•ble,adj.

syn: follow, ensue, result, succeed imply coming after something else, in a natural sequence. follow is the general word: We must wait to see what follows. A detailed account follows.ensue implies a logical sequence, what might be expected normally to come after a given act, cause, etc.: When the power lines were cut, a paralysis of transportation ensued.result emphasizes the connection between a cause or event and its effect, consequence, or outcome: The accident resulted in injuries to those involved.succeed implies coming after in time, particularly coming into a title, office, etc.: Formerly the oldest son succeeded to his father's title.

follow - to travel behind, go after, come after; "The ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow the guide through the museum"

go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"

go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"

choose, pick out, select, take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"

analyse, analyze, examine, study, canvass, canvas - consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning; "analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare"; "analyze the evidence in a criminal trial"; "analyze your real motives"

supercede, supersede, supervene upon, supplant, replace - take the place or move into the position of; "Smith replaced Miller as CEO after Miller left"; "the computer has supplanted the slide rule"; "Mary replaced Susan as the team's captain and the highest-ranked player in the school"

15.

follow - perform an accompaniment to; "The orchestra could barely follow the frequent pitch changes of the soprano"

arise, originate, spring up, uprise, develop, grow, rise - come into existence; take on form or shape; "A new religious movement originated in that country"; "a love that sprang up from friendship"; "the idea for the book grew out of a short story"; "An interesting phenomenon uprose"

come - exist or occur in a certain point in a series; "Next came the student from France"

18.

follow - accept and follow the leadership or command or guidance of; "Let's follow our great helmsman!"; "She followed a guru for years"

behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

19.

follow - adhere to or practice; "These people still follow the laws of their ancient religion"

go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"

stalk - go through (an area) in search of prey; "stalk the woods for deer"

It would get so dark that it looked all blue-black outside, and lovely; and the rain would thrash along by so thick that the trees off a little ways looked dim and spider- webby; and here would come a blast of wind that would bend the trees down and turn up the pale under- side of the leaves; and then a perfect ripper of a gust would follow along and set the branches to tossing their arms as if they was just wild; and next, when it was just about the bluest and blackest -- FST

Letting the eyes follow along the course of the stream, they could catch the reflected light from its water, at some short distance within the forest, but soon lost all traces of it amid the bewilderment of tree-trunks and underbush, and here and there a huge rock covered over with gray lichens.

I knew that they would support our weight, and as we could gain nothing by remaining longer in the palace, I decided to descend by way of the ivy and follow along down the river in the direction of the launch.

The little ApriPetit robot, a successor to the much larger ApriPoko, stands only six inches tall but it can follow along to conversations by moving its body and eyes in ways similar to a proper conversation.

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